Powerboat P1 to Hold World Championship in Bahrain

Powerboat P1 Launches First Middle East Event
Kingdom of Bahrain to Host 2008 Season Finale

The Powerboat P1 World Championship will wrap up its 2008 race season with the addition of a new race site and continent. The Kingdom of Bahrain will host the first-ever P1 Middle East event October 23rd to 25th, at Marina Durrat Al Bahrain, part of the new Durrat Al Bahrain development project.

The Bahrain Powerboat P1 Grand Prix of the Sea has the full support of Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa and the Bahrain Economic Development Board; Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa and the General Organization for Youth Sports; and Shaikh Mohammed Duaij Al Khalifa and the Bahrain Maritime Sports Association. Event partners include Marina West and InterContinental Regency Hotel.

Long believed to be the site of the Biblical Garden of Eden, Bahrain is a borderless island Kingdom due East of Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf; it represents the third continent to host a Powerboat P1 World Championship event. "I am delighted to announce Bahrain as our venue for the Middle East race, and Durrat Marina as the host for the seventh and final event of the 2008 Powerboat P1 season,” said Powerboat P1 managing Director Jim O’Toole, speaking from the host Hotel InterContinental Regency in Manama. “We are working hard to expand the Powerboat P1 Series into new territories and see the Middle East as a crucial development area for us. We are pleased that our event has found a home here in Bahrain and we look forward to working closely with Shaikh Mohammed and the Bahrain Maritime Sports Association in making this event a fitting end to our season."

O’Toole asserted that The Bahrain Grand Prix of the Sea signifies the viability of Powerboat P1 racing beyond Europe. “As the international appeal of Powerboat P1 continues to build, we are happy to be able to announce such an eclectic mix of top class venues in three continents. More and more cities and resort destinations are prepared to invest in P1 to secure the long term rights to our dynamic sports and entertainment platform. They share our enthusiasm for the Championship and recognize the potential of its global reach and the impact of our events on the local economy,” he said.

Powerboat P1 is positioned to round-out Bahrain’s rich racing heritage – including a six month horse racing season and a world-class Formula One event named “Best Organized Grand Prix” by the Federation Internationale L’Automobile. According to Shaikh Mohammed bin Duaij Al Khalifa, “We have been looking to attract a top-class powerboat race to the Kingdom for some time and are delighted that Powerboat P1, the very top level of powerboat racing, has chosen to make Bahrain its home in the Middle East. We hope to build on the success of the Formula 1 to really establish Bahrain as the home of all types of motorsport in the Middle East, both on land and on water. I’m sure the event will offer some spectacular racing and a thrilling occasion that all Bahraini residents will be able to enjoy.”

Bahrain has grown in popularity as a tourist destination, drawing over 8 million visitors per year, in large part due to the prestige of the Formula One race. In addition, travel guide, “The Lonely Planet” describes Bahrain as “an excellent introduction to the Persian Gulf” because of its authentic Arab heritage of 5,000 years of civilization combined with modern infrastructure and a reputation as a relatively liberal, tolerant society where one finds mosques alongside churches, a Hindu temple, a Shikh Gurdwara and a Jewish synagogue.”

The Powerboat P1 Bahrain Grand Prix of the Sea also represents the significant growth in tourism and marine development in the island Kingdom, with two such developments serving as Event Partners. The host facility, Marina Durrat Al Bahrain, is part of a $3 billion, 20 square kilometer seaside resort, whose representative Otham Janahi, said is “proud and delighted” to be hosting the inaugural event, “As we were developing the plans for Marina Durrat Al Bahrain, we realized that we needed to create an event that would really put the Marina on the map as the premier resort venue in the Middle East, we strongly believe that over the next few years this event will certainly help us achieve that,” Janahi said. His sentiments were echoed by Event Partner Marina West Chief Executive Mahmood Janahi, who told the assemblage, “We look forward to a thrilling and action packed weekend of powerboat racing. Marina West is an exciting and luxury waterfront development and we felt it was important to support an event that promotes Bahrain as a water sport venue; it fits neatly with our marketing strategy and is undoubtedly the leading Powerboat Racing Series in the world. We are sure that our involvement with this event will bring benefit to the Marina West development and certainly help to establish Bahrain on the world water sport map.”

The 2008 Powerboat P1 World Championship has been boosted by a record entry of 24 teams, providing the marine industry with a global marketing platform and spectators with a world class spectacle and experience. The opening event of the season will be the Italian Grand Prix of the Sea from 9th to 11th May at the Adriatic resort of San Benedetto del Tronto. The series is televised to over 100-million homes worldwide, and combines spectacular offshore action with the glamour of international motorsport. Racing takes place close to the shoreline in some of the world’s finest holiday seaside destinations attracting large crowds. Last season the festival atmosphere of a Powerboat P1 race weekend was enjoyed by over 280,000 race fans. # # #
Photos available upon request.
Visit www.powerboatp1.com for more information and high-resolution photography.

God only knows with our current cost for oil and fuel, that this part of the world ought to take on the responsibility and costs to promote our great sport. We've been do'in over here in the US and in Europe so long! Just the shot in the arm an ailing sport could use at a tough time for a lot of boaters and builders here in the Good Old USA! and a chance for the world to start getting excited and involved in performance boating! Congratulations Powerboating P! on a great new race venue!